27-year old QB Matt Moore made a statement after replacing Chad Henne when he went down to injury.  The Dolphins were 6-6 in Moore’s 12 starts at QB this year.  Moore played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Dolphins last year and he completed 210 of 347 passes (60.5%) for 2,497 yards with 16 TD passes and 9 INTs (87.1 QB Rating).  Moore also carried the ball 32 times for 65 yards (2.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs last year.  Moore has now played in 35 games (25 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 437 of 739 passes (59.1%) for 5,137 yards with 32 TD passes and 26 INTs (80.1 QB Rating).  Moore also has carried the ball 52 times for 92 yards (1.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Moore is now 13-12 (52%) as a starting QB in his NFL career.

26-year old QB Chad Henne has likely run out of time with the Miami Dolphins.  The Dolphins were 0-4 in games started by Henne before an injury ended his season.  Henne played in 4 games (all starts) for the Dolphins last year and he completed 64 of 112 passes (57.1%) for 868 yards with 4 TD passes and 4 INTs (79.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 15 times for 112 yards (7.5 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Henne has now played in 36 games (31 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 646 of 1,065 passes (60.7%) for 7,114 yards with 31 TD passes and 37 INTs (75.7 QB Rating.  He has also carried the ball 66 times for 196 yards (3.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Henne has a 13-18 (41.9%) career record as the Dolphins’ starting QB.

30-year old J.P. Losman was the Dolphins’ #2 QB during Matt Moore’s 12 starts last year.  He played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Dolphins last year and he completed 6 of 10 passes (60%) for 60 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (77.1 QB Rating).  Losman also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) last year.  Losman has now played in 45 games (33 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 564 of 962 passes (59.2%) for 6,271 yards with 33 TD passes and 34 INTs (75.6 QB Rating).  Losman has also carried the ball 105 times for 490 yards (4.7 ypc) with 3 TD carries so far in his NFL career.  Losman is 10-23 (30.3%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

27-year old QB Matt Moore suffered a concussion last weekend and he might not be ready to play the Bills this Sunday.  Moore has played in 10 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has completed 162 of 263 passes (61.6%) for 1,864 yards with 10 TD passes and 6 INTs (86.1 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 26 times for 74 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year.  The Dolphins will be in trouble if Moore can’t go this Sunday.  30-year old J.P. Losman would get the start against his old team (the Bills) if Moore can’t play.  Losman has played in 2 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has completed 6 of 10 passes (60%) for 60 yards without a TD pass or interception (77.1 QB Rating).  Losman has also carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc) so far this year.

50-year old head coach Tony Sparano easily has the hottest seat of any coach in the NFL right now.  The Dolphins tried to hire Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford, before he spurned them for the Niners.  The front office is making calls as we speak to other guys like Bill Cowher, so Sparano’s seat is still red hot.  He has the team playing a lot better than they did earlier this year, but, the bottom line is that they are still 1-7 on the season.  The Dolphins are now 26-30 (46.4%) in Sparano’s first four years on the job and his time is running short.

The Dolphins have signed veteran Sage Rosenfels to back up 27-year old QB Matt Moore.  Moore is now the starting QB for the Fins now that Chad Henne is done for the year.  He had a chance to start last season for the Panthers but he couldn’t hold onto the job due to a combination of a lack of performance and injuries.  He has a better offensive line and better WRs and TEs to work with in Miami, so they hope he will take advantage of his newest opportunity to prove that he’s an NFL caliber starting QB.  He has played in 1 game for the Dolphins so far this year and he has completed 17 of 26 passes (65.4%) for 167 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also has carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard so far this year.

26-year old RB Reggie Bush wants to be a full-time #1 RB in the NFL.  He needs to run the ball better than he did inside against the Patriots last Monday Night.  Bush carried the ball 11 times for 38 yards (3.5 ypc) and he caught 9 passes for 56 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Rookie Daniel Thomas is still a little gimpy, so Bush will be the main man against the Texans this weekend.  The Texans held the Colts to 64 yards rushing (4.0 ypc) in their season opener, so Bush will have to work hard for his yards this Sunday.

The Dolphins are only averaging 83.0 yards rushing per game and an awful 2.9 yards per carry so far in the preseason.  The Fins are going to depend on rookie 2nd round pick Daniel Thomas and veteran Reggie Bush to carry the running game in 2011, and they have not looked good so far.  Thomas has carried the ball 23 times for 73 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run so far in the preseason.  Bush has carried the ball 13 times for 47 yards (3.6 ypc) in the preseason.  On a bright note, they have combined to catch 6 passes for 100 yards (16.7 avg) so far in the preseason.  The Dolphins need Thomas & Bush to give the offense balance in 2011 by running the ball well.  It will be interesting to see if they are up for the challenge or not.

25-year old Chad Henne had a rough year for the Dolphins in 2010.  He played in 15 games for the Dolphins last season and he completed 301 of 490 passes (61.4%) for 3,301 yards with 15 TD passes and 19 INTs (75.4 QB Rating).  Henne also carried the ball 35 times for 52 yards (1.5 ypc) last season.  Henne has now played in 32 games in his first three years with the Dolphins and he has completed 582 of 953 passes (61.1%) for 6,246 yards with 27 TD passes and 33 INTs (75.3 QB Rating).  Henne has also carried the ball 51 times for 84 yards (1.6 ypc) with 1 TD run in his three years with the Fins.  Henne has shown no signs of improvement since becoming the starting QB last season and it might be time to replace him.

26-year old Tyler Thigpen is a really solid #3 QB which is the role the Fins should have him fill in 2011.  Thigpen played in 5 games for the Fins last season and he completed 33 of 62 passes (53.2%) for 435 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs (73.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 13 times for 73 yards (5.6 ypc) last season.  Thigpen has now played in 22 games in his NFL career and he has completed 269 of 496 passes (54.2%) for 3,167 yards with 21 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.7 QB Rating).  Thigpen has also carried the ball 77 times for 462 yards (6.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career. 

34-year old Chad Pennington is likely toast after hurting his shoulder again in 2010.  Pennington played in 1 game for the Dolphins last season and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 19 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (83.3 QB Rating).  Pennington has now played in 89 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,632 of 2,471 passes (66%) for 17,823 yards with 102 TD passes and 64 INTs (90.1 QB Rating).  Pennington has also carried the ball 180 times for 465 yards (2.6 ypc) with 7 TD runs in his career.

VERDICT:  I think the Dolphins should gauge interest in Chad Henne in the trade market to see what they can get for him.  If they find a deal they like they should move him.  Pennington will likely retire but the Fins will cut him if he doesn’t.  Thigpen will likely return as the #2 or #3 QB depending on what the Fins do with Henne.  I think they need to bring in a veteran QB to take over as the starting QB.

The Miami Dolphins  took 23-year old outside linebacker Koa Misi with the #40 overall pick (2nd round) out of Utah.  Misi has been starting for the Dolphins this year but he isn’t making a lot of big plays.  He has played in 13 games for the Fins so far this year and he hass 31 tackles, 3.5 sacks and he has defensed 2 passes.

25-year old Chad Henne lost his starting job to Chad Pennington earlier this year due to his play.  Henne has not played well so far this year and the Dolphins went out and traded for Brandon Marshall to give him a legit #1 WR.  But, Henne has not been able to get the ball to Marshall this year.  Henne has played in 11 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has completed 228 of 367 passes (62.1%) for 2,621 yards with 12 TD passes and 15 INTs (77.5 QB Rating).  Henne also has carried the ball 26 times for 31 yards (1.2 ypc) so far this year.  Unless Henne finishes strong this year the Fins will have to find someone to compete with him for the starting job at QB in 2011.

The Miami Dolphins have lost 24-year old WR Brian Hartline indefinitely due to hand surgery.  He might miss the rest of the year but that has yet to be determined at this time.  Hartline has played in 12 games for the Dolphins so far this year and he has 43 catches for 615 yards (14.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 27 yards (13.5 ypc) so far this year.  23-year old undrafted rookie WR Marlon Moore will take over as the Fins’ #3 WR so they need him to step up.  Moore has played in 6 games for the Fins so far this year and he has 3 catches for 77 yards (25.7 avg) with a TD grab.

UPDATE:  (12/12/2010) – The Dolphins have placed Brian Hartline on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.